I. Preface
Although the Core Ultra 200S series processors have been on the market for quite some time, the classic entry-level model Core i5-12400F remains highly popular. Whether for everyday office applications or gaming, the Core i5-12400F is more than capable, making it the top choice for entry-level processors.
This article will test the gaming performance of the Core i5-12400F + Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB configuration, providing a reference for users still using the Core i5-12400F and considering purchasing the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB graphics card.
II. Specification Comparison
The Core i5-12400F was released on January 4, 2022. It uses a 10nm process, has six performance cores and no efficiency cores, with a total of 12 threads. Its base clock is 2.5 GHz and turbo boost up to 4.4 GHz. It has 7.5MB of L2 cache and 18MB of smart cache, with a TDP of 65W. Its suggested retail price is between $184.00 and $194.00, and the current market price for OEM chips is around 600 RMB.
The Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB was released on June 4, 2025. It uses the Navi 44 GPU on TSMC’s 4nm process, based on the RDNA 4 architecture. It features 2048 shaders, 128 texture units, 64 raster units, 32 compute units, and 32 ray tracing units.
It has 4MB of L2 cache and 32MB of L3 cache. The base clock is 1700MHz, with a boost clock of up to 3130MHz. It has a 128-bit memory interface, comes with either 8GB or 16GB of GDDR6 memory, memory speed is 20.1Gbps, and bandwidth is 322.3GB/s. Power consumption is 160W. The 8GB version is priced at $299, and the 16GB version at $349.
III. Test Platform Configuration
The main configuration is as follows:
Processor: Core i5-12400F
Motherboard: MSI B760M Bomber WiFi
Memory: 32GB DDR5-6000
Graphics Card: Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB
Storage: Two Crucial P3 Plus 4TB SSDs
Operating System: Windows 11
IV. Game Tests (Core i5 12400F + RX 9060 XT)
Seven games were tested. Although 1080P would align better with the target positioning of this GPU, all tests were conducted at 1440P to evaluate maximum performance.
Game 1: Alan Wake 2
Average FPS: 44
Minimum Instant FPS: 26
Frame Time: 23.7ms
CPU Usage: 44%, Temp: 46°C
Memory Usage: 13.1GB
GPU Usage: 98%, VRAM Usage: 7.3GB
Power: 148W, Temp: 64°C
CPU usage was just over 40%, relatively light. Memory usage hovered around 13GB. The GPU was nearly fully utilized, with VRAM usage just over 7GB—well-leveraged GPU performance.
Average FPS exceeded 40, but minimum FPS dipped below 30, and frame time at 23ms showed slight latency and stuttering. The bottleneck was in the GPU, not the CPU.
Game 2: Ghostwire: Tokyo
Average FPS: 70
Minimum Instant FPS: 56
Frame Time: 13.2ms
CPU Usage: 42%, Temp: 48°C
Memory Usage: 14.4GB
GPU Usage: 100%, VRAM Usage: 7.4GB
Power: 149W, Temp: 65°C
CPU load was around 40%, relatively light. Memory usage was slightly over 14GB. GPU ran at full load, with VRAM usage just over 7GB—excellent GPU utilization.
Average FPS reached 70, minimum above 50, frame time around 13ms—no performance issues.
Game 3: Cyberpunk 2077
Average FPS: 65
Minimum Instant FPS: 55
Frame Time: 17.1ms
CPU Usage: 52%, Temp: 57°C
Memory Usage: 12.9GB
GPU Usage: 97%, VRAM Usage: 8.0GB
Power: 150W, Temp: 65°C
CPU usage around 50%, normal. Memory usage around 13GB. GPU near full load, VRAM usage at 8GB—close to max. Overall performance was solid.
Average FPS exceeded 60, minimum above 50, frame time around 17ms—smooth with no performance issues.
Game 4: Resident Evil 4 Remake
Average FPS: 85
Minimum Instant FPS: 71
Frame Time: 11.9ms
CPU Usage: 42%, Temp: 52°C
Memory Usage: 13.7GB
GPU Usage: 98%, VRAM Usage: 7.8GB
Power: 150W, Temp: 65°C
CPU usage around 40%, light load. Memory usage between 13GB–14GB. GPU nearly maxed out, VRAM close to 8GB—efficient usage.
Average FPS over 80, minimum around 70, frame time around 11ms—no weak points.
Game 5: Silent Hill 2
Average FPS: 54
Minimum Instant FPS: 47
Frame Time: 18.0ms
CPU Usage: 28%, Temp: 48°C
Memory Usage: 11.9GB
GPU Usage: 98%, VRAM Usage: 7.8GB
Power: 149W, Temp: 64°C
CPU load very light at ~30%. Memory usage around 12GB. GPU close to full load, VRAM usage between 7–8GB—good GPU performance.
Average FPS above 50, minimum above 40, frame time 18ms—smooth and consistent performance.
Game 6: Black Myth: Wukong
Average FPS: 49
Minimum Instant FPS: 33
Frame Time: 19.7ms
CPU Usage: 49%, Temp: 50°C
Memory Usage: 17.7GB
GPU Usage: 97%, VRAM Usage: 7.5GB
Power: 149W, Temp: 65°C
CPU usage around 50%, standard. Memory usage between 17GB–18GB. GPU nearly fully loaded, VRAM usage between 7–8GB—good GPU utilization.
Average FPS around 50, minimum over 30, frame time about 19ms—slightly strained, but still runs smoothly.
Game 7: The Last of Us Part II
Average FPS: 54
Minimum Instant FPS: 37
Frame Time: 16.8ms
CPU Usage: 56%, Temp: 58°C
Memory Usage: 19.7GB
GPU Usage: 99%, VRAM Usage: 6.7GB
Power: 149W, Temp: 67°C
CPU usage between 50%–60%, slightly high. Memory usage between 19GB–20GB. GPU at near full load, VRAM between 6–7GB—GPU performance well utilized.
Average FPS above 50, minimum above 30, frame time around 16ms—no noticeable performance issues.
V. Comparative Conclusion
Overall, the Core i5-12400F + Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB configuration shows no performance bottlenecks in terms of hardware pairing, and the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB can fully realize its performance potential, so there’s no need to worry about bottlenecks.
Clearly, the limitation in this setup lies not with the processor, but with the graphics card. The 8GB VRAM struggles with 1440P gaming. However, if the resolution is lowered to 1080P, performance should improve significantly. Realistically, most users opting for this setup are unlikely to use it for 1440P gaming.
In conclusion, this configuration has no performance bottlenecks, and the graphics card performs at full capacity. It could even support a slightly more powerful GPU. If budget allows, it is recommended to opt for the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB or higher model to ensure solid performance over the next three years.
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